Wpływ Design Thinking na rozwój przedsiębiorczości

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie innowacyjnego podejścia do rozwijania przedsiębior‑ czości poprzez zastosowanie umiejętności myślenia projektowego stosowanego w meto‑ dologii Design Thinking. Badania prowadzone od kilku lat przez firmę MasConsulting potwierdzają, że Design Thinking pozwala na skuteczne rozwiązywanie skomplikowanych problemów oraz tworzenie innowacyjnych rozwiązań. Skłania do przedsiębiorczości i współpracy interdyscyplinarnych zespołów nastawionych na diagnozowanie problemów, generowanie pomysłów oraz testowanie najlepszych rozwiązań. Celem procesu Design Thinking jest opracowanie rozwiązań, które są jednocześnie opłacalne biznesowo, wyko‑ nalne technicznie i pożądane przez klientów oraz odpowiadają na ich realne potrzeby

Microbial biodiversity in arable soils is affected by agricultural practices

The aim of the study was to examine the differences in microbial community structure as a result of agricultural practices. Sixteen samples of cultivated and the same number of non-cultivated soils were selected. Gel bands were identified using the GelCompar software to create the presence-absence matrix, where each band represented a bacterial operational taxonomic unit. The data were used for principal-component analysis and additionally, the Shannon-Weaver index of general diversity, Simpson index of dominance and Simpson index of diversity were calculated. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiles clearly indicated differentiation of tested samples into two clusters: cultivated and non-cultivated soils. Greater numbers of dominant operational taxonomic units (65) in non-cultivated soils were noted compared to cultivated soils (47 operational taxonomic units). This implies that there was a reduction of dominant bacterial operational taxonomic units by nearly 30% in cultivated soils. Simpson dominance index expressing the number of species weighted by their abundance amounted to 1.22 in cultivated soils, whereas a 3-fold higher value (3.38) was observed in non-cultivated soils. Land-use practices seemed to be a important factors affected on biodiversity, because more than soil type determined the clustering into groups

Actinobacteria Structure in Autogenic, Hydrogenic and Lithogenic Cultivated and Non-Cultivated Soils: A Culture-Independent Approach

The aim of the study was to determine the Actinobacteria structure in cultivated (C) versus non-cultivated (NC) soils divided into three groups (autogenic, hydrogenic, lithogenic) with consideration its formation process in order to assess the Actinobacteria sensitivity to agricultural soil use and soil genesis and to identify factors affecting their abundance. Sixteen C soil samples and sixteen NC samples serving as controls were taken for the study. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of the 16S rRNA metagenomic amplicons (Ion Torrent™ technology) and Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) were applied for precise determination of biodiversity. Generally, greater abundance of Actinobacteria in the NC soils relative to the C soils was found. Moreover, it was indicated that the actinobacterial diversity depended on both the soil genesis and the land use; however, this effect directly depended on the particular family and genera. Two factors: redox potential (Eh) and total carbon (TC) seemed to had a significant effect on the diversity of Actinobacteria. More precisely, Actinobacteria from the NC soils displayed a greater affinity for each other and were clearly influenced by Eh, whilst those from the C soils were mostly influenced by T

Osoczowe stężenia frakcji adiponektyny u kobiet z chorobą Alzheimera

ABSTRACT Introduction Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disease. Typical features of AD include memory loss, social dysfunction and physical impairment. Although the pathological findings in the central nervous system are well established, the etiological factors are poorly known. Recent studies suggested the role of metabolic disturbances in the development of AD neurodegeneration. Adiponectin, an anti-inflammatory and metabolism regulating factor, was linked to AD. Aim The aim was to examine whether adiponectin fractions combined with insulin/insulin resistance-associated metabolic parameters correlate with AD progression. Material and methods The study comprised 98 women: 27 with moderate to severe AD, 31 with AD at early stage and 40 healthy controls, matched for age and BMI. To evaluate memory impairment, the MMSE was performed. Plasma total adiponectin and its high-, medium- and low molecular weights were measured with ELISA. Anthropometric, clinical and metabolic parameters were assessed. Correlations between adiponectin array and measured parameters were evaluated. Results In comparison to the controls, enhanced levels of total and medium molecular weight adiponectin characterized AD individuals. In AD, we found correlations between adiponectin array, and anthropometric and biochemical parameters. After adjustment to BMI, a significant increase of the total adiponectin and high- and medium molecular weight fractions was observed. A negative correlation between low molecular weight adiponectin and MMSE was found. Conclusions Our results indicate a possible link between adiponectin variations and AD. We hypothesize that changes in adiponectin profile observed in AD result from compensatory mechanism against neuropathological processes, as well as from adiponectin homeostasis impairment.Introduction: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disease. Typical features of AD include memory loss, social dysfunction, and physical impairment. Although the pathological findings in the central nervous system are well established, the aetiological factors are poorly known. Recent studies suggested the role of metabolic disturbances in the development of AD neuro­degeneration. Adiponectin, an anti-inflammatory and metabolism regulating factor, was linked to AD. The aim was to examine whether adiponectin fractions combined with insulin/insulin resistance-associated metabolic parameters cor­relate with AD progression. Material and methods: The study comprised 98 women: 27 with moderate to severe AD, 31 with AD at early stage, and 40 healthy con­trols, matched for age and BMI. To evaluate memory impairment, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was performed. Plasma total adiponectin and its high, medium, and low molecular weights were measured with ELISA. Anthropometric, clinical, and metabolic parameters were assessed. Correlations between adiponectin array and measured parameters were evaluated. Results: In comparison to the controls, enhanced levels of total and medium molecular weight adiponectin characterised AD individu­als. In AD, we found correlations between adiponectin array, and anthropometric and biochemical parameters. After adjustment to BMI, a significant increase of the total adiponectin and high and medium molecular weight fractions was observed. A negative correlation between low molecular weight adiponectin and MMSE was found. Conclusions: Our results indicate a possible link between adiponectin variations and AD. We hypothesise that changes in adiponectin profile observed in AD result from compensatory mechanisms against neuropathological processes, as well as from adiponectin homeo­stasis impairment

Catabolic Fingerprinting and Diversity of Bacteria in Mollic Gleysol Contaminated with Petroleum Substances

This study focused on the determination of both catabolic and genetic fingerprinting of bacteria inhabiting soil contaminated with car fuels. A surface layer (0–20 cm) of Mollic Gleysol was used for the experiment and was contaminated with car fuels—unleaded 95-octane petrol and diesel at a dose of 15 g per 10 g of soil. The experiment lasted 42 days and was performed at 20 °C. The metabolic potential of soil bacterial communities was evaluated using the Biolog EcoPlate system. The results demonstrated that petroleum substances influenced the structure of the microbial populations and their catabolic activity. The Arthrobacter, Paenibacillus, and Pseudomonas genera were found in diesel-contaminated soil, whilst Bacillus and Microbacterium were found in petrol-contaminated soil. Rhodococcus species were identified in both variants of impurities, suggesting the widest capability of car fuel degradation by this bacterial genus. The contamination with unleaded 95-octane petrol caused rapid inhibition of the metabolic activity of soil bacteria in contrast to the diesel treatment, where high metabolic activity of bacteria was observed until the end of the incubation period. Higher toxicity of petrol in comparison with diesel car fuel was evidenced

The status of the employee participating in the strike.

Przedmiotem pracy jest analiza statusu pracownika biorącego udział w strajku, została ona poprzedzona podziałem akcji zbiorowych na zgodne z prawem oraz zorganizowane wbrew przepisom ustawy, w oparciu o kryteria podmiotowe, przedmiotowe, proceduralne, z uwzględnieniem zasad organizowania i prowadzenia strajku oraz jego celu. W ramach wywodów na temat statusu pracownika prezentowana jest analiza uprawnień, jakie mu przysługują w trakcie trwania akcji legalnej i nielegalnej, obowiązków, jakie ulegają zawieszeniu na czas strajku oraz takich, które zachowują aktualność i odpowiedzialności, jakiej podlega pracownik. Rodzaje odpowiedzialności zostały wyróżnione ze względu na rolę, jaką pełni pracownik w czasie strajku oraz na naruszenia określonych przepisów ustaw poprzez poszczególne, indywidualne, zachowania pracowników, wypełniające ich znamiona. Podział ze względu na rolę pełniona w akcji zbiorowej obejmuje organizatorów, kierujących strajkiem oraz jego biernych uczestników. W pracy została poddana analizie odpowiedzialność pracownicza, obejmująca wypowiedzenie umowy o pracę, zwolnienie w trybie art. 52 k.p., wypowiedzenie zmieniające oraz odpowiedzialność porządkową i materialną, a także odpowiedzialność odszkodowawczą i karną.The subject of my dissertation is the analysis of the status of the employee participating in the strike. It is preceded by division of strikes into legal and illegal according to criteria such as persons, objects, procedure, rules and aims of organizing strike. My dissertation concerns three major issues, which are employee's eligibility, obligations and kinds of responsibilities. Employee's responsibilities are divided into civil, criminal and responsibility if comes to employment contract, such as dismissal, denunciation as well as material and ordinal responsibility. During the strike one can play a role of organizer, leader and passive participant and because of that pays different consequences

Agricultural and other biotechnological applications resulting from trophic plant-endophyte interactions

Endophytic microbiota plays a role not only in supplying plants with the basic nutrients indispensable for their growth, but also helps them in the mechanisms of adaptation to various environmental stresses (i.e., salinity, drought), which is important in the aspect of crop yields. From the agricultural and biotechnological points of view, the knowledge of endophytes and their roles in increasing crop yields, plant resistance to diseases, and helping to survive environmental stress is extremely desirable. This paper reviews some of the beneficial plant-microbe interactions that might be potentially used in both agriculture (plant growth stimulation effect, adaptation of host organisms in salinity and drought conditions, and support of defense mechanisms in plants), and in biotechnology (bioactive metabolites, application of endophytes for bioremediation and biotransformation processes, and production of biofertilizers and biopreparations). Importantly, relatively recent reports on endophytes from the last 10 years are summarized in this paper